La French Tech — 2026-05-22

French Tech Funding Wire

Pivot — $40M Series B

• What they do: Paris-based agentic AI startup simplifying enterprise procurement workflows.
• Round details: Series B; clients include Doctolib, Deezer, and Pennylane. Founders are Marc-Antoine Lacroix, Estelle Giuly, and Romain Libeau.
• Use of funds / why it matters: Pivot will use the capital to scale sales and capture more large enterprise accounts. The raise signals strong appetite for AI that automates back-office operations — a category heating up globally.

Prelude — $20M Series A (~€17.2M)

• What they do: Paris-based identity trust and phone verification infrastructure platform, founded by ex-Zenly alumni Quentin Le Bras and Matias Berny, using AI to combat telecom fraud.
• Round details: Series A led by 20VC, with participation from Singular, Seedcamp, Deel, and FDJ Ventures. Business angels include Revolut's CMO and the CEO of Grindr.
• Use of funds / why it matters: Prelude will scale its onboarding and user trust infrastructure. The Zenly pedigree and the high-profile angel roster signal strong conviction in anti-fraud identity infrastructure as a critical enterprise need.

Mister IA — €10M

• What they do: French AI platform aimed at democratising access to AI tools for businesses and individuals across France and Europe.
• Round details: Lead investors 199 Ventures (fund of Andréa Bensaid) and Momentum Invest. Round closed in the past 48 hours.
• Use of funds / why it matters: Mister IA will accelerate commercial development in France and across Europe. The backing from 199 Ventures is notable — Andréa Bensaid is a prominent voice in the French AI advisory space.

1 sources

maddyness.com

199 Ventures, le fonds d’Andréa Bensaid, et Momentum Invest misent 10 millions d’euros sur Mister IA

Product & Launch Watch

AION Consortium — French Bid for Europe's €10B AI Gigafactory

• What launched: A French industrial consortium called AION, comprising Iliad (Scaleway), Ardian, Artefact, Bull, Capgemini, EDF, Orange, Hugging Face, Kyutai, and Quandela, submitted a formal bid to host one of the European Union's planned AI gigafactory sites. The project is valued at approximately €10 billion.
• Why it matters: France is competing directly with the UK, Germany, and other EU member states for one of only five planned gigafactory slots. A French win would cement Paris's position as Europe's leading AI sovereignty hub — and channel massive compute infrastructure investment into the French tech ecosystem.

France's AI Attractiveness — EY Baromètre 2026

• What launched: The EY Attractiveness Barometer 2026 confirmed France attracted 53 foreign AI-related investment projects in 2025 — more than any other European country — driven by data centre buildout and low-carbon energy infrastructure, downstream of the AI Summit and the €109 billion investment plan announced last year.
• Why it matters: France is now the go-to destination in Europe for inbound AI FDI, a competitive edge that the Macron government has been deliberately engineering since the 2018 Villani report.

Deals, Moves & Exits

• Swap (plant-based meat): The French agri-food startup Swap — once backed by Bpifrance and Astanor, and seen as one of the ecosystem's plant-based meat champions — has been placed into liquidation judiciaire (court-ordered liquidation). Its assets may be acquired by its former CEO. The failure is a high-profile reminder that deep-tech and food-tech bets remain capital-intensive with uncertain timelines to profitability.

• Cisco at Station F: Cisco has established a presence at Station F to support AI startups with infrastructure, networking expertise, and go-to-market resources. The move deepens the involvement of large US tech companies in Paris's startup campus ecosystem, echoing earlier commitments from Microsoft and Google.

Ecosystem & Policy Pulse

• Macron Quantum Announcement Imminent: President Emmanuel Macron is expected to announce new financing commitments for France's quantum computing and semiconductor sectors — framed explicitly as "Act 2" of France's sovereign technology agenda — potentially including direct startup support. The announcement is timed as the US and China accelerate their own quantum programs. Founders and investors in these sectors should watch for new grant and co-investment vehicles.

• Agentic AI Policy Warning — Le Monde Op-Ed: A high-profile op-ed in Le Monde (May 18) argues France has "six months to catch the next industrial wave of agentic AI," warning that the country's tax regime — flagged as outdated even by France's highest audit court — is structurally incompatible with the stablecoin-settled transaction infrastructure that AI agents are increasingly using. The piece calls for urgent fiscal reform to keep France competitive. Founders building in the agentic AI and Web3 payment space should track potential legislative moves in response.

What to Watch Next

• Macron's Quantum & Semiconductor Package: The formal announcement — expected Friday, May 22 or in the immediate days following — is likely to include new Bpifrance co-investment vehicles or grants for quantum and semiconductor startups. Watch La French Tech 2030 cohort announcements that may accompany it.

• EU AI Gigafactory Decision Timeline: The EU is evaluating bids across five member states. The AION consortium's €10B French bid is now formally in the race. A decision in favour of France would trigger one of the largest single infrastructure investments in French tech history.

• PitchBook 2026 France Private Capital Report: Published this week, PitchBook's inaugural 2026 France Private Capital Breakdown examines PE and VC market dynamics in France and is expected to inform LPs and institutional allocators on French tech as an asset class. Fund managers raising in H2 2026 should review it closely.

Reader Action Items

• Founders: If you are building in quantum computing, semiconductors, or AI infrastructure, prepare a clear pitch aligned with France's sovereign tech priorities ahead of Macron's imminent policy announcement — new grant programmes and Bpifrance instruments are likely to follow.

• Investors / Corporate Dev: The Swap liquidation is a signal to stress-test portfolio food-tech and climate-tech companies on their path to profitability; meanwhile, the AION gigafactory bid, if successful, will unlock significant supply-chain and B2B software opportunities in AI infrastructure — start mapping the vendor landscape now.

• Operators / Job-seekers: Prelude (ex-Zenly founders, fresh $20M Series A) and Pivot (fresh $40M Series B) are both in active hiring mode post-raise — both Paris-based, both in high-growth agentic/identity AI categories with strong international investor backing.